{"id":3805,"date":"2010-09-21T05:50:25","date_gmt":"2010-09-21T09:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/?p=3805"},"modified":"2010-09-21T05:51:50","modified_gmt":"2010-09-21T09:51:50","slug":"jardins-vraiment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/2010\/09\/jardins-vraiment\/","title":{"rendered":"Jardins? Vraiment?"},"content":{"rendered":"

From what I’ve begun to gather, the English (or, Londoners) aren’t particularly fond the French or French culture. \u00a0I overheard a conversation on the street that ended in, “Do I look bloody French to you?”. \u00a0Not quite sure of the motivation behind the outburst, but anti-French sentiment, while not rampant, is a visible part of popular English culture. \u00a0It’s strange, then, that some of London’s most prominent physical elements should mesh so completely with the French formal ideal: \u00a0parks.<\/p>\n

The classic French conception of beauty in nature is that none can exist without the existence of order- of the human hand altering the chaotic natural mass into a structured, geometric product. \u00a0From what I’ve seen of the layout of Regent’s park, the Brits have just about the same idea. \u00a0Many people have commented that parks in London seem to be, first and foremost, places to enjoy the beauty of the precisely-planned horticulture. \u00a0We see meticulously trimmed hedges, flowers planted with regard to color scheme, and white fountains as centerpieces. \u00a0While running in Regent’s the other afternoon, I saw teams of gardeners replacing soil and adjusting flowerbeds. \u00a0The beauty lies not only in pure nature, but in the reordering and distribution of it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.gardens-to-visit.com\/2009\/02\/versailles-2.html<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s hard to think of a better example of this systematic restructuring than in Versailles. \u00a0The hedges are pruned to an almost impossible degree of uniformity, the flowers are separated with care, and there are man made monuments throughout (to serve as an even more solid testament to the strength and genius of the designers. \u00a0The same artistic values and technical skill are visible in Queen Mary’s Garden in Regent’s park.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.londonrelocationservices.com\/blog\/tag\/west-london-relocation<\/a><\/p>\n

The rows and rows of flowers in the garden do not grow in natural patterns, as might be typical in American parks or gardens. \u00a0Like their French counterparts, the English gardeners have devised color schemes, strict rows, and tight upkeep standards on all the elements of the space (note the uniformity in the hedges around the fountain and the flower patches). \u00a0These areas of the park are not meant for “fun” in the typical American park sense of the word- we were glared at for tossing a frisbee in the garden a few days ago. \u00a0They’re a medium of artistic expression, and I’m starting to appreciate them more and more. \u00a0I do think, however, that instead of badmouthing the French, Londoners should take some time to stop and smell the roses. \u00a0It’s through these gardens that we can see real, fundamental similarities in an important aspect of the two cultures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From what I’ve begun to gather, the English (or, Londoners) aren’t particularly fond the French or French culture. \u00a0I overheard a conversation on the street that ended in, “Do I look bloody French to you?”. \u00a0Not quite sure of the motivation behind the outburst, but anti-French sentiment, while not rampant, is a visible part of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":424,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6693,1],"tags":[12,15199,15164,828],"class_list":["post-3805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2010-patrick","category-uncategorized","tag-art","tag-french","tag-gardens","tag-parks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/424"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3805\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/norwichhumanities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}